Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city become a desolation?
- BSB Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?
- NKJV Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city be laid waste?
- NASB Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a place of ruins?
- NLT Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jeremiah pleads with them to ignore the false prophets, serve Babylon, and live. He warns that resistance will make the city a ruin.
Overview
The prophet repeats his life-or-death appeal: submission preserves the city, rebellion destroys it. He exposes the false prophets as guides toward desolation. His persistence reflects God's patient mercy, offering escape even to a stubborn people. The choice between life and desolation mirrors the deeper choice every soul faces between heeding or rejecting God's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 38:17Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:
- Jer 38:23So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
- Jer 27:11–13But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
- Jer 7:34Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 27:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.